The latest revelations about corruption in Ukraine tell a complex story. A scandal has engulfed the Ukrainian ministry of defence, where 100,000 mortar shells worth about $40m (£31m) were paid for but never delivered. But within days of this story emerging, Ukraine achieved its best-ever ranking in the annual corruption perceptions index complied by Transparency International (TI). The improved standing in the TI index demonstrates that efforts by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to crack down on corruption – including in his inner circle – have led to some improvements. On the other hand, the ammunition scandal is a clear indication of how pervasive and normalised corruption has become when senior defence officials and managers of an arms supplier collude to deprive their country of vital military supplies at a time when their country is facing an existential crisis. Corruption has long been a problem in Ukraine. But over the past ten years, since annual corruption perceptions scores have been collated, the country has steadily improved
The latest revelations about corruption in Ukraine tell a complex story. A scandal has engulfed the Ukrainian ministry of defence, where 100,000 mortar shells worth about $40m (£31m) were paid for but never delivered. But within days of this story emerging, Ukraine achieved its best-ever ranking in the annual corruption perceptions index complied by Transparency International (TI).
The improved standing in the TI index demonstrates that efforts by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to crack down on corruption – including in his inner circle – have led to some improvements. On the other hand, the ammunition scandal is a clear indication of how pervasive and normalised corruption has become when senior defence officials and managers of an arms supplier collude to deprive their country of vital military supplies at a time when their country is facing an existential crisis. Corruption has long been a problem in Ukraine. But over the past ten years, since annual corruption perceptions scores have been collated, the country has steadily improve
Ukraine Corruption Scandal Defence Ministry Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index Volodymyr Zelensky Arms Supplier